


When You Don’t Know How to Use Words, Use Flowers Instead

by avocadoatlaww



Series: Ennotana Week 2018 [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: 5 + 1 story, I'm Sorry, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, Tanaka is a dork, The Language of Flowers, because i can't write angst, don't be scared, he swears so much, it's mostly fluff, it's not too sad though i think, rated teen for ennoshita's potty mouth, tbh that's gonna be all my fics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-01
Updated: 2018-08-01
Packaged: 2019-06-20 00:32:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15522132
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/avocadoatlaww/pseuds/avocadoatlaww
Summary: Tanaka is really into the language of flowers (although he'll never admit it).Ennotana Week day 1: flowers





	When You Don’t Know How to Use Words, Use Flowers Instead

**Author's Note:**

> I'm so hype for Ennotana Week omg! And now it has finally started. I can finally share my fics. Whooo !! 
> 
> This was betaed by the lovely Lils (you're my hero). 
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

**1\. Age 5**

_Daisy – innocence, loyal love, I’ll never tell, purity_

Chikara and Ryuu had been friends for as long as Chikara could remember. Their mothers were good friends, and they would bring their boys along whenever they went for a walk in the nearby park, or when they visited each other to drink a cup of tea and gossip.

Even though the two boys where quite different, they got along perfectly. Ryuu would drag Chikara along on one wild scheme after another, climbing trees and getting their trousers muddy.  Chikara, who wasn’t as adventurous, would often stay on the lower branches of trees, and ran to get help every time Ryuu climbed too high up and couldn’t get back down.

Chikara was in his room when the doorbell rang. He heard his mum leave the living room, her socked feet moving towards the hallway. There was a low murmur of voices, and then a shout of: “Chikara, you have a visitor!”

Chikara smiled. He already had a feeling he knew who was at the door.

He didn’t even have time to say hello before he got a fistful of flowers shoved into his face. They had white petals around a yellow middle, the roots still attached to some of them, and with tufts of grass in between.

“For ya,” Ryuu said, as he gave Chikara a gap-toothed grin.

 **“** Thank you.” Chikara smiled back at his friend.

“How pretty they are, Ryuu-kun!” Chikara’s mother said. “Let’s get those daisies in a glass of water, and then the two of you can go out to play.”

The two kids followed her into the kitchen. She filled a glass with water, and Chikara gingerly placed the flowers in it. Then Ryuu grabbed his hand, and they ran outside to play in the garden.

**2\. Age 15**

_Gardenia_ _– you’re lovely, secret love_

Tanaka was woken up by his phone ringing.

“Ennoshita?” he grumbled into his phone after picking it up.

“Tanaka! Wait … were you napping again?”

Tanaka didn’t answer.

“I told you not to nap during the day because you won’t be able to sleep at night!” Ennoshita sighed, and Tanaka could picture him dragging his palm across his face. It almost made him smile. “Anyway,” Ennoshita continued, “that’s not why I called. I need your help.”

At that, Tanaka woke up. Ennoshita never called for help. “What’s goin’ on?” Tanaka asked.

“Ok, so, this is kinda embarrassing,” Ennoshita said. “So, Satou-san asked me out on a date, and I said yes. Now, I don’t know what to do because it’s today, and I don’t know what to wear and my style is terrible as you like to point out and-”

“Hey, Ennoshita,” Tanaka cut of Ennoshita’s rant, “when are you supposed to meet her?”

“At seven.”

“Ok, then we have time. Just come over to my place, and I’ll help ya out.”

“Thanks.” Ennoshita released a relieved breath.

“No problem, man.”

Tanaka threw on a shirt and started rifling through his closet, looking for anything Ennoshita could wear on his date. He tried not to think about the fact that Ennoshita was going on a date. With a girl. It wasn’t like it was any of Tanaka’s business anyway. He found a pair of tight, dark jeans, that would accentuate Ennoshita’s very nice butt and thighs. (Only Daichi had better thighs than Ennoshita, if you asked Tanaka).

“Tanaka.”

Tanaka’s head whipped around. Ennoshita was standing in the doorway dressed in an awful t-shirt with a zebra print and a pair of plain trousers.

“Saeko let me in,” he explained.

Tanaka waved him in and threw the jeans at him. “Put these on, will ya?” he said, turning back towards his closet. “I’m just tryin’ to find ya a _nice_ shirt.”

Ennoshita sighed but did as he was told.

“It ain’t a too dressy date, right?” Tanaka asked from deep within the closet.

“I don’t think so?” Ennoshita answered, although it sounded more like a question.

“Then put these on.” Tanaka threw a white t-shirt and a soft, green plaid shirt at Ennoshita. Turning back towards Ennoshita, Tanaka couldn’t help letting his eyes linger for a bit on Ennoshita’s butt, as he had turned around to put on the rest of the outfit.

When Ennoshita turned back again, Tanaka took a good look at him. The jeans fit Ennoshita better than Tanaka himself, and they were tight in just the right places. The t-shirt was slightly big, but still looked good. Ennoshita had tied the plaid shirt around his waist, due to the summer heat outside. Tanaka nodded slightly to himself. Ennoshita looked great.

“So?” Ennoshita questioned.

“Ya look great!” Tanaka smiled at him. Ennoshita smiled back in thanks.

The two boys made their way downstairs. Noting a vase of gardenias on the chest of drawers in the hallway, Tanaka picked up one of them, and placed it behind Ennoshita’s ear.

“Now ya are ready to go,” he said.

“Thanks, Tanaka,” Ennoshita smiled softly and took the flower from behind his ear. He cradled the white flower in his hands, when he left Tanaka’s house. Tanaka smiled sadly after him, thinking about just how fitting the gardenia had been.

 

 **** **3.**   **Age 18**

_Violet, white – let’s take a chance on happiness_

Graduation had been a mess. Tanaka was both the most embarrassed he’d ever been, but also the happiest he’d been in his eighteen years of life. He’d liked to think it was all Noya’s fault, or maybe Tora, for telling him to go through with the ridiculous scheme. But in the end, Tanaka knew he only had himself to blame.

Well, at least the flowers had been a good idea.

Not many people would guess, but Tanaka was a bit of a hopeless romantic. His mum had taught him the language of flowers when he was a kid, and while he hadn’t had that many chances to use this knowledge yet, he did like picking out just the right flowers for different occasions.

Tanaka had always had a hopeless crush on his childhood friend. Ennoshita was just perfect, really. Cool and composed, smart, and also incredibly fucking strong. If anyone asked, Tanaka would say that the only bad thing about Ennoshita was his fashion sense. He could deal with that. Well, it wasn’t like Tanaka was delusional about Ennoshita’s strong and weak points. He knew that his childhood friend was too hard on himself, that he could seem cold and standoff-ish, but in Tanaka’s eyes, the weak points didn’t matter.

When Ennoshita had dated Satou-san back in their first year, Tanaka had tried to support his friend the best he could. It was hard, though, seeing his crush together with someone else. So, Tanaka had started talking really loudly about cute girls, and maybe he was flirting with Shimizu-senpai, but it’s not like he thought she would ever see him as anything other than a mouthy kouhai. But Ennoshita and Satou-san broke up, and while Tanaka did his best to hide it, he couldn’t help but be happy about it. Maybe he finally had a chance.

That was why Tanaka, with the help of Noya and Tora, had come up with this mad plan.

The graduation ceremony was a quiet and dull experience. One after one, the students went up on the stage to where the headmaster was waiting. They shook his hand, and he handed them their diploma. Still, Tanaka’s heart was beating like crazy.

Last night, Tanaka and Saeko had spent hours painting the banner he was now clutching a part of in his hands. Noya held another part of the banner, and they had even talked Kinoshita and Narita into helping out. It was an excellent banner, if Tanaka could say so himself, really artistic with glitter and shit.

Noya nudged Tanaka when Ennoshita walked towards the stage.

“No chickening out now,” he whispered.

Time seemed to slow as Ennoshita walked across the stage. Tanaka’s heartrate rose to new heights, and as Ennoshita got his diploma from the headmaster, Tanaka and the other former members of Karasuno Men’s Volleyball Team, rose from their seats and lifted the banner up high.

“Yo, Chika!” Tanaka shouted, and Ennoshita’s head whipped towards the voice. He noticed the banner a second later. It read: “Captian pls go out with me”. There was shock, but also amusement on his face as he shouted back: “Oh, fuck you, Tanaka!”

Everyone erupted into laughter.  Tanaka blushed a deep crimson.

Ennoshita found Tanaka after the ceremony.

“You, fucker,” Ennoshita said as he hit Tanaka in the chest. “You fucking beat me to it, and you can’t even spell. What the hell?” He gripped the lapels of Tanaka’s uniform jacked and shook him. “Fuck you, Tanaka Ryuunosuke, yes, fuck it, I’ll go out with you.”

Tanaka wondered if Ennoshita had shook loose his last brain cells because he could swear he just heard Ennoshita say yes. “Wait … did ya jus’ agree?”

“Yeah, you dumb-fuck, I did.”

“Jus’ wait a minute, ok?” Then Tanaka ran off the fastest he could.

Luckily for him, Ennoshita was still waiting for him when he got back, a box in his arms.

“So, uh … we actually wanted to shower ya with these, but Saeko said not to, so …” Tanaka tipped the box over Ennoshita’s head, and a shower of white, delicate flowers fell out. “Let’s take a chance on happiness, I guess?”

Ennoshita shook his head and laughed at his friend’s, no, _boyfriend’s_ stupidity.

 

**4\. Age 27**

_Rose, red – love, respect_

Tanaka barged into Ennoshita’s room, clutching a bouquet of red roses.

“Ryuu, no,” Ennoshita said without turning around to face him. “Get out!”

“Chika,” Tanaka pouted.

“No, it’s bad luck. Get out!”

Tanaka put the flowers on the dressing table and snuck his arms around Ennoshita. Pecking him on the cheek, Tanaka whispered: “I didn’t know ya were superstitious, Chika.”

“I-I’m not,” Ennoshita stuttered. Tanaka just snickered.

“Anyway,” Tanaka said, “it’s bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the weddin’ ceremony. No one said anythin’ about the groom seein’ the groom.”

Ennoshita sighed and turned around in Tanaka’s arms.

“So,” he raised an eyebrow, “what are you doing here?”

Tanaka’s face went red. “I wanted to see ya?” he said. “Oh, and I brought flowers?”

“More flowers?”

Tanaka hugged Ennoshita tight, then let go to go pick up the bouquet. “I know it’s cliché,” he said while rubbing his neck, “but, I don’t know, it just felt right?”

Ennoshita smiled, taking the bouquet from Tanaka. “You’re sweet,” he said and kissed Tanaka on the cheek. Taking one rose out of the bouquet, Ennoshita shortened the stalk and fit it in Tanaka’s buttonhole, then adding one in his own. “There, we match.”

Tanaka smiled widely.

Tanaka’s phone pinged. “Oh, shit, I gotta run,” Tanaka said. Before he closed the door to Ennoshita’s room behind him, he turned around and said: “Ya know, I can’t wait to become an Ennoshita.” With a smile, he was gone.

**5\. Age 42**

_Camellia – admiration, perfection, good luck, gift to a man_

“Ryuu!” Noya screeched.

Ryuu ran into the living room. Benched around the TV was Noya, Kinoshita, and Narita, a vacant spot left for Ryuu. He had just been gone for a minute to fetch some tea.

“He did it!” Narita said, and both Noya and Kinoshita were smiling like madmen.

“What?” Ryuu asked.

“Chikara! He won!” Noya was jumping on the couch in excitement. “He won the fucking Oscar!”

The tray of tea cups Ryuu had been holding crashed to the floor. Then all four of them erupted into ecstatic screaming. Somewhere, in the back of Ryuu’s mind, he noted that he should probably get the neighbour an apology gift for the noise.

Ennoshita Chikara had been a well-known name in the movie industry in Japan for a good few years now. He’d started out as an indie director making movies about marginalised groups and focusing on LGBT+ representation. After a particularly good review in a major newspaper, his movies started to get more popular. A bigger audience meant more funds, which led to both longer and better movies, and by his early forties, Ennoshita Chikara was quite famous.

His latest movie had caught the interest of a Western audience as well as a Japanese, which led to it being nominated for an Oscar in the category foreign language film. Which he had, turns out, just won.

When Chikara came back from his trip to the US some days after the ceremony, Ryuu was ready to pick him up at the airport.

“Chika!” Ryuu shouted as soon as he saw his husband come out of the terminal. Ryuu ran over to him, picked him up, and spun him around like they were still teenagers.

“Ryuu, put me down,” Chikara laughed.

“Never,” Ryuu said and rubbed his nose against Chikara’s. “C’mon, let’s go back home.”

When they got back to the car, Chikara noticed the bouquet of pink flowers in the passenger seat. He picked them up, looking over at Ryuu.

“Ah, yeah, they’re for you,” Ryuu said, a slight blush creeping over his cheeks. “Camellias. I thought it was fitting.”

Chikara smiled at him. “Thanks.”

**+1. Age 87**

_Forget-me-not – true love, memories_

The old man walked up to the grave, flowers in hand. His steps slow, but deliberate, like he had walked the same path before. Kneeling down, he placed the flowers against the gravestone. A slight smile graced his face.

“I brought these for you,” he said. “Thought you might like them. That they were fitting, as you probably would have said.

“You know, I researched this flower language thing just for you. I know you were into it, even though you never would have admitted it.

“They are forget-me-nots. Surprisingly enough they don’t mean the same as their name, but you already knew that didn’t you, Ryuu. They mean true love and memories, and that just felt right.”

The old man stroked his fingers over the tiny, blue petals. A single tear making its way down his cheek.

“We had a good life, didn’t we?”

Scrubbing the tear off his face, the old man rose. He whispered a quiet good bye for now, and slowly made his way back the way he came. His steps a tiny bit heavier.

**Author's Note:**

> I came up with this idea while watering the flowers on my grandpa's grave. Just in case you needed an explanation.


End file.
